Her family now knows that 25-year-old Jackie Ebel, who was reported missing from Long Beach in 1988, was murdered.
But the body was never identified, until recently. The Riverside County District Attorney's cold case team conducted forensic genetic genealogy on the body in 2022, and they found a match.
"When we found out about the possibility that they had found her, it was surreal," said Charlotte Walker, who was Jackie's aunt. "We don't have justice yet. But whether we do or not, we have our Jackie."
According to a press release by the county district attorney's office, Jackie lived in the Long Beach and Bellflower areas. She also went by the last names "Yonkers" and "Palmer."
"Jackie was a very sweet child. We got to see her quite often, at the holidays," said Walker. "Jackie lived a different lifestyle, one that we would not want for her. She had challenges and we knew that."
Jackie was last seen leaving her apartment complex on Pine Avenue in Long Beach on December 23rd, 1988. When she didn't contact any of her family members on Christmas, her mother became concerned and called Long Beach police to make a report.
A body was found behind a business on 4th Street in Perris three days later, but investigators never connected the cases. That body remained unidentified for decades.
It wasn't until Joe Parsons decided to upload his DNA profile to the website 23andMe to find out about his family tree that authorities were finally able to make the connection: his DNA was a close match to DNA from the body in Perris.
That's when Joe found out he actually had a sister: Jackie Ebel.
It's allowed the family to finally have a proper memorial service for her. But they're still hoping to find justice for Jackie.
"We have a great family now," said Parsons. "But I really hope that someone wants to clear the air and do the right thing, come forward, admit what they've done and have some justice."
The Riverside County Regional Cold Case Homicide Team is asking the community to contact investigators with any information about the homicide or the victim that could assist them.
"We don't quite know who she met prior to her murder," said senior investigator Ebony Caviness. "We don't know how she ended up in Perris. She has absolutely no connections to Riverside County."
Authorities say any leads, no matter how insignificant they may seem, can be reported to the Cold Case Hotline at (951) 955-5567, or by emailing coldcaseunit@rivcoda.org.